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Guideline M.2: Environmentally Preferable Materials

Intent

To improve environmental impacts of construction through the selection of environmentally preferable materials and products.

Required Performance Criteria

  1. At least 55% of the total building materials used in the project must have one of the following attributes: salvaged or reused, recycled content, recyclable, bio-based, responsibly sourced or regional as defined in Sections 1 through 6 below. The combined calculation is based on mass, volume or cost. Where a material has more than one attribute, the material value will be multiplied by its number of qualifying attributes.1
    1. Salvaged or reused materials and components:2
      1. The salvaged material content will be determined based on the actual mass, volume, or cost of the salvaged material or the cost of a comparable alternative component material. Portions of a building retained and reused in a renovation may contribute in this category.
    2. Recycled content – Recycled content building materials must comply with one of the following:
      1. Contain not less than 25% combined postconsumer and/or pre-consumer recovered material, and be recyclable (see definition in 3 below).
      2. Contain not less than 50% combined postconsumer and/or pre-consumer recovered material.
    3. Bio-based – Bio-based materials are materials that comply with one or more of the following:
      1. The bio-based content is not less than 75% as determined by testing in accordance with ASTM D6866.
      2. The requirements of USDA 7CFR Part 2902.
    4. Responsible sourced – Responsibly sourced materials are materials that comply with the following:
      Wood and wood products labeled in accordance with the following standards:2

      1. If wood comes from a North American source, it is certified using SFI, FSC, CSA, or ATF.
      2. If wood comes from a source outside North America, it is certified using FSC or PEFC.
      3. Other approved standards for extraction of raw materials (see Additional Resources in Meeting the Guidelines below).
    5. Regional: – Regional materials or components must be composed of resources that are recovered, harvested, extracted, and manufactured within a 500-mile radius of the building site:
      1. Where only a portion of a material or product is recovered, harvested, extracted, and manufactured within 500 miles, only that portion can be included.
      2. Where resources are transported by water or rail, the distance to the building site must be determined by multiplying the distance that the resources are transported by water or rail by 0.25, and adding that number to the distance transported by means other than water or rail.

Projects that include less than 20,000 gsf of conditioned space may opt to demonstrate compliance with this guideline by evaluating only the most prevalent materials of the project, subject to the following:

  1. The most prevalent materials shall be evaluated by mass, volume, or cost.
  2. At least five materials must be included in this calculation.
  3. Additional materials may be included in the calculation—e.g., the 7 or 10 most prevalent materials may be used.
  4. Materials of lower prevalence may not be included unless all materials of higher prevalence are included—e.g., the tenth most prevalent material cannot be used unless the first through ninth most prevalent materials are also included in this evaluation.

[1] This section is aligned with International Green Construction Code (IGCC) and ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Section “505.1 Material selection and properties.” Areas that differ are noted in subsequent footnotes. Recycleable materials contribute to the IGCC guideline but do not contribute to meeting this guideline.

[2] Salvaged or reused category differs from the IGCC requirements.

[3] Wood product requirements differ from the IGCC.

Recommended Performance Criteria

  1. At least 75% of the total building materials combined to be used in the project must have one of the following attributes: salvaged or reused, recycled content, recyclable, bio-based, responsibly sourced, or regional as defined in the preceding section.

Implementation During the Design Process:

During Design, make initial selection of building materials and products with the following attributes: salvaged or reused, recycled content, recyclable, bio-based, responsibly sourced, or regional.

During the construction documents phase, represent chosen materials from Guideline M.2 in drawings and specifications. Ensure that 55% compliance level for environmentally preferable materials is met. Through construction, monitor submittals to ensure project includes selected materials; review substitutions based on selected criteria to ensure consistency and compliance with goals and objectives.

Other Approved Responsible Sourcing Standards:

There are no additional approved responsible sourcing standards at this time.

Design:

  • M.2A and M.2B: Selection of preliminary calculation method (mass, volume, or cost), total anticipated material mass, volume or cost, a list of building materials anticipated to achieve compliance with this guideline. This will include the material name, manufacturer (if known at this phase) and the percent contribution of each attribute category (salvaged or reused, recycled content, recyclable, bio-based, responsibly sourced, or regional).

Final Design:

  • M.2A and M.2B: Selection of calculation method (mass, volume, or cost), total anticipated material mass, volume or cost, a list of building materials anticipated to achieve compliance with this guideline. This will include the material name, manufacturer (if known at this phase) and the percent contribution of each attribute category (salvaged or reused, recycled content, recyclable, bio-based, responsibly sourced, or regional).

Closeout:

  • M.2A and M.2B: Verification of calculation method (mass, volume, or cost), total anticipated material mass, volume or cost, a list of installed building materials used to achieve compliance with this guideline. This will include the material name, manufacturer (if known at this phase) and the percent contribution of each attribute category (salvaged or reused, recycled content, recyclable, bio-based, responsibly sourced, or regional).

Appendix M-2: Environmentally Preferable Materials

2015 International Green Construction Code

ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2014, Standard for the Design of High Performance Green Buildings

ASTM D6866

SFI Standard

FSC STD-40-004 V2-1 EN

CSA Standard

PEFC Council Technical Document

USDA 7CFR Part 2902

Bio-Based Material

A commercial or industrial material or product, other than food or feed, that is composed of, or derived from, in whole or in significant part, biological products or renewable domestic agricultural materials, including plant, animal, and marine materials, or forestry materials (IGCC 2015).

Post-Consumer Recycled Content

The proportion of recycled material in a product generated by households or by commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities in their role as end users of the product that can no longer be used for its intended purpose. This includes returns of material from the distribution chain (IGCC 2015).

Pre-Consumer (Post-Industrial) Recycled Content

The proportion of recycled material in a product diverted from the waste stream during the manufacturing process. Pre-consumer recycled content does not include reutilization of material such as rework, regrind, or scrap generated in a process and capable of being reclaimed within the same process that generated it (IGCC 2015).

Raw Material

The basic substance from which products are made, such as concrete, glass, gypsum, masonry, metals, recycled materials (e.g., plastics and metals), oil (petroleum, polylactic acid), stone, agrifiber, bamboo, and wood (LEED v.4).

Reuse

To divert a material, product, component, module, or a building from the waste stream in order to use it again (IGCC 2015). Reuse includes the recovery and reemployment of materials recovered from existing building or construction sites. Also known as salvage (LEED v.4).

Total Building Materials

Includes all building materials except electrical, mechanical, plumbing, security and fire detection, and alarm equipment and controls, automatic fire sprinkler systems, elevators and conveying systems (IGCC 2015).

Wood

Plant-based materials that are eligible for certification under the FSC and other programs. Examples include bamboo and palm (monocots) as well as hardwoods (angiosperms) and softwoods (gymnosperms) (LEED v.4).

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